Howdy all,
Well my brother just turned 60, my dad flew down from chilly Minnesota so I flew over from New Mexico. The one hour flight from El Paso sures beats a 7 hour drive.
The flight though cramped was uneventful.
We had grilled steaks for dinner and started the reunion. You would think that Donny, Barb & I get together often since we live fairly close to one another. Well that isn't the case. Each of us have fairly busy lives so we get together rarely. I would like to get together more often but it just doesn't happen. The same goes with seeing the rest of the family up north. It rarely happens. So when brother Don turned 60 and my dad wanted out of the northlands we made this reunion happen.
Today was an adventure. Donny has to earn a living (no work, no pay) so he is gone. That leaves pop and myself. Since his camera needed a new battery from Radio Shack we decided to drive over. We had a car with a GPS available to us so a short drive would be no problem. It wouldn't have been EXCEPT for ONE THING! IT IS A STICK SHIFT!! Gaaaaaaaaa! I can't remember the last time I drove a stick.
I programmed the GPS, got dad in the car and started the engine or at least I thought I was starting the car. Did you know that you have to have the clutch engaged / disengaged or pressed to the floor before it would start? I didn't remember that. I turned the ignition while pressing down on the brake pedal but nothing happened. "O good, I broke the car" I thought. I checked the emergency brake and tried again. After what seemed like much too much time I discovered my error and got that sucker purring along. Now all I needed to do was back out and get going. I think stick shifts are of the devil. I started the delicate balancing act of the release of the clutch while accelerating only to find myself lurching to a quick stop and the engine dying. Now remember my 93 year old father is sitting next to me. He isn't saying a thing - BLESS HIS SOUL! I start the engine with both the brake & clutch pressed to the floor and start all over. Once again I engaged in the delicate balancing act required and immediately lurched to another stop with a dead engine. "This is going well" I thought to myself. Here I am, of a mature age, and I can't drive. By now I was thoroughly embarrased and laughing hysterically. I am still not out of the driveway remember.
Well I finally managed to back out, shift it into first without jerking too badly or killing the engine and drove the 30 yards to the stop sign. The GPS was talking to me by now. I believe it was wondering what in this world I was doing. She (a female voice giving directions, I wonder if you can get a male voice instead) very kindly yet forcefully told me I was supposed to turn right now.
That's easy for her to say. She doesn't have her dad sitting right there adding to the embarrasment of not knowing how to drive a stick. I felt like I was taking lessons all over again. Well I turned right while pressing too hard on the gas and lurched some more but we were making progress. By now we were at least 2 blocks from home and going swimmingly.
Who put those stop signs on each corner? I was expected to engage in this delicate balance thing again. But now there was an SUV filling up my rear view mirror and another car waiting on the side street. My embarrasement was now going to be total. I knew I was going to either lurch my way through the intersection or get rear-ended because the driver in back of me erroneously thought I knew what I was doing. I actually made it through the intersection with out a problem and I was once again off and running.
The GPS was minding her own business for far to long obviously so she very loudly informed me that my next turn was coming up in .5 miles and I had better think about getting over if I knew what was good for me. It was then that I saw the police cars. There were two of them at the intersection where I was to turn. Will a police officer pull you over if you lurch your way through an intersection? That thought was foremost in my mind as I waited for the light to switch. The light changed and I made it through in pretty good form. Now I was off the side street and on the main drag. Traffic was buzzing all around me, the GPS was squawking at me to get ready to turn and there sat my dad taking it all in. He didn't say a word.
I could go on and on but I will mercifully summarize. We completed our errand at the store and headed home. I asked dad if he was feeling like he had taken his life in his own hands by riding with me. That's when he informed me that he had been thinking about his insurance coverage and was pretty sure he was covered so things were okay.
I confidently lurched out into traffic, smiled when the GPS gave me directions and drove the rest of the way home. I am not sure I am going to venture out again. I believe I will have to rent a car after all or be content to stay at home.
